The Way We Were
by RaeyvnRain
Summary: Post NFA One shot. Cordy gets the chance to present her Champion with his reward.


_**The Way We Were**_

_Post NFA. One shot. Cordy gets a few minutes to reward her Champion. _

_What might have been Angel/Cordy, but alas, it is ultimately Buffy/Angel _

_**The Way We Were**_

The alley was like a scene from a really cheesy horror flick. Bodies littered the ground, dust settled through the air, and amidst it all, one man stood. One man, one triumphant hero, one Champion. Her Champion.

Cordelia Chase knew she only had a short amount of time in which to do this before the "reinforcements" arrived. A day late, and a dollar short, or some other cliché like that. With a soft glow of white, she landed behind him soundlessly.

"Good job." she said, smiling softly, knowing with everything she was or had been, that she'd never doubted that he'd pull this one off. He was her Champion, after all.

She watched the almost comical widening of his eyes, but didn't comment on it. Time was too precious now as it was. "Hey there, Champ." she said, instead.

He choked back a half sob, half desperate laugh, as he swung her into his fierce embrace. "God, Cordy. It's you." he whispered, reverently.

"It's me, doofus. Let go, some of us have to breath you know." She said, laughing lightly at the way they could easily fall back into camaraderie. "Congratulations, seriously." she said.

He looked saddened then. "For what? I got them all killed." he reminded her.

She looked around, and had to swallow the bitter tears that rose at the knowledge her friends were truly gone. Illyria was only feet away, a sword impaling her lifeless body. Gunn, she knew was farther back. He'd lasted thirty minutes, but she knew him. He'd made them a hell of a thirty minutes. Wes, she knew, was dead before this battle even began. The pile of dust just to Angel's right was all that remained of the second souled vampire.

He'd won, but it had been a bitter victory. It had cost him the lives of the only people he'd ever truly considered family. A bitter victory, indeed.

"Hey, none of that. You've done it. There's nothing left. You've earned your redemption, tough guy." Cordelia informed him.

"I... I what?" Angel asked, clearly confused.

"You've succeeded. The Shanshu is yours now." Cordelia told him.

He shut his eyes briefly, disappointment clear on his face. "I signed that away." he stated.

Cordelia snorted lightly. "Pfft. As if you could do that. You can't sign away something that wasn't yours yet, Angel. You did what you were supposed to. You defeated the Senior Partners. You've earned this, Angel." she told him urgently, the tears she'd repressed before shining clearly. Angel deserved this, and she would be damned if he never saw it. She couldn't help the little laugh then. "You really are lost without me, you know?

He smiled at that. His smiled quickly turned to a look of realization. "I'm going to be human." it wasn't a question, but a statement of wonderment. His eyes were expressive as they swung to her. "Cordy.. I'm going to be human. It's our dream." he said.

She smiled sadly then. "Yeah, it was our dream wasn't it? I'm sorry I couldn't be here in with you till the end. I know I broke that promise. Forgive me?" she asked.

"Of course." he said, frowning slightly at her. He didn't like the vibe he was getting from her. She was here now, and he would be human. They could finally have everything they wanted.

"Okay. Ready for your reward?" she asked, playfully. He nodded, dumbly. She spread her hand over his heart, and he glanced down, as her hand glowed white. "Cordy." he whispered, feeling the blood begin to pump, the long dead organs began to work, and finally... finally, his heart began beating.

The tears ran a bitter track down her cheeks, as she cupped his face in her palms. "Remember I love you, Angel." she said, before pressing her lips to his own.

She was surprised that through all the changes going on within him, that he managed to kiss her back, and so enthusiastically.

She remembered in that kiss, they way they were. Before evil invaded her body and stole her mind. Before Connor was kidnapped, before they figured out that they loved each other. Before any of this. She remembered the way they were, when they were just Cordelia Chase and Angel. When they were the Champion and his seer.

She pulled away, knowing instinctively that her time was nearly up. She smiled sadly at him. "Remember the way we were." she whispered urgently.

He could only nod, knowing that another chance with her was slipping through his fingers, even as she faded away with the gentle breeze.

* * *

Years later, he'd look back and remember the bitter victory. When he was growing old, with his grandchildren on his knee, his wife of fifty years settled in beside him on the old rocker swing, he'd look back, and remember them all. He told the story of the vampire with a soul to his children, and then his grandchildren. His wife would smile lovingly, the way she always had, and together they would share with the children how they came to be. How she had come to help the love of her life, and instead found the human version of her lover. How the vampire with the soul, turned human and the Slayer of the Hellmouth, became husband and wife.

But he never told them of the one who got away. The one he'd never been given the chance to love. On rainy evenings, he'd sit on that same back porch swing, and think of her, and he'd remember, the way they were.

_Whenever we remember...  
The way we were...  
The way we were... _

_Author's Note. Ay, cheesy as hell, I know. But It's been stuck in my head for a few days, and had to be written. I'm not entirely pleased with this, and I'm really not a fan of the character Buffy Summers, but there it is. Enjoy._

_As always and untile next time ... ... ... ... Raeyvn Rain_


End file.
